View of competition in Indian education

Last updated on: June 21, 2008 at 4:42 pm By Desh Kapoor

People often talk about the competition in education in India. Sometimes they do not appreciate the extent of it. The competition is high even for the University courses... which eventually lead you nowhere. There is no one out there hiring a person who has an undergrad degree in Commerce or English. Bachelors degree almost means nothing in India.. unless it is a B.Tech or a Bachelors in Engineering. Despite that, the competition for admission to such degrees is mind boggling! Here is an example: Applicants with high grades have far outnumbered the number of seats. At least 223 applicants with scores above 95 per cent and 3,962 applicants scoring between 90 to 95 per cent have applied for the sought-after courses. The cut-offs for popular courses such as B.Com (H), B.A (H) Economics, B.A(H) English and B.Com (Programme) are set to rise from last year, officials say. Read more

mathemagic kam aur mathepacchi jaada

Last updated on: June 21, 2008 at 8:20 am By Jay Sanders

Meri dastan bahut hi karun hai 🙂 mathemagic kam aur mathepacchi jaada hui hai::) Please note that all the rubbish that is written underneath is a satire and am not at all serious in any part of the paragraph here. Also take it with a bucketful of salt. Somehow i scraped through my 10th board exams vowing never to touch MATHEMATICS ever. 11th and 12th standard presented me with PHYSICS (which is applied mathematics). Both the years, I managed only passing marks (though had distinctions ((above 80%) in all other subjects). Read more

Tyre Tube Baby

Last updated on: June 21, 2008 at 8:13 am By Jay Sanders

It was already past eight at night and I scarcely was able to walk partly because of the dark and partly because of the fatigue both mental and physical. The mental fatigue was a resultant of human emotions and fears brought about by the multiple risk factors that I had overcome just few minutes ago. Read more

Pigs and Tigers: Triumph of Mother-hood

Last updated on: June 20, 2008 at 5:08 am By Desh Kapoor

How can you define motherhood! Some say it is tough for women to love an adopted kid. Well, it all depends. Here is a 6 year old Bengal Tiger who is caring for piglets as her own kids! Now the question is - will the piglets grow up with a Tiger's ferociousness or the TIger become lazy as a pig? They have even clothed the piglets in striped coats... 🙂 And its not as if its just the tigers who can do that! In the same zoo, a Pig is nursing tiger cubs as well as her own! Seems like the zoo officials have a point to prove about mother-hood!! Read more

Popular and irritating corporate expressions

Last updated on: June 19, 2008 at 6:22 am By Desh Kapoor

Have you been on the corporate roller coaster for sometime? Then you may have come across many expressions that for some reason have become very popular.... and irritating at the same time. Are you on the same page as me? Ok.. there I go... 🙂 Enjoy.. and share yours as well.. - Ok... for starters - this has to be the classic statement of the corporate century - You can't have your cake and eat it, so you have to step up to the plate and face the music - Going forward, we will read more.. - The phrase brain storm is getting off the ramp - because it might have negative connotations associated with fits. So some folks now take idea showers. - You have heard about product evangelist.. now geeks want to be platform atheists so that their computers will run programs from any manufacturer - Incentivise - how many times has your colleague wanted to touch base about something "offline" - Oh yes .. and some people simply "loop back"! - And does your company need a "holistic, cradle-to-grave approach"? - Has your boss got you on her radar? - You surely know that you dont have problems any more.. simply challenges! - And yes, everyone and her brother is after the ubiquitous "low hanging fruit! Read more

Mind Boggling picture

Last updated on: June 18, 2008 at 9:27 am By Desh Kapoor

What a picture!!!! It is so mind boggling! Afar Cattle Herders, Ethiopia, 2005 Read more

Deaf pets and fighting the police

Last updated on: June 18, 2008 at 8:57 am By Desh Kapoor

You are taking a lot of risk by keeping a 9 ft python as your pet. But if the police come calling because you have not been behaving civic, then you have to be out of your mind if you expect it to play a dog! SO, here is this guy who had police come calling.. because he was threatening his girl friend with his pet python... .... and when the police comes in... he orders the python to "GET THEM"! And the python... just stood there. For one thing, python are snakes and not dogs and so have no concept of fetching ball. And second, interesting but frustrating for this guy.. snakes do not hear! They feel the vibration.. and its unlikely to have learnt the vibratory version for "GET THEM"... seems likely? So, if you want to your pets to "GET" any unwelcomed guests, either get pets who can listen... or stop threatening! For, this guy ended up in jail because his pet was deaf! Read more

How Christian Institutions screwed up Vedantic wisdom and Hinduism for Conversions

Last updated on: June 18, 2008 at 8:05 am By Desh Kapoor

Does this book cover seem strange? It is Hinduism By Monier Monier-Williams, Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge (Great Britain). General Literature Committee. As an understatement, it insults my intelligence! This was the mess of the White burden that descended on India in the 19th century. Now, if you were not a serious student of Vedanta and were to view it from a very restrictive and naivette that is often used by most in West to understand Jesus himself. The text below will explain why! Worse is that this guy who is talking about Vedanta suddenly starts about Aryan Invasion Theory - which was ultimate BS to start with! These are the folks who have been known as Indologists and "Scholars" of Sanskrit and Hinduism! This system which was fully developed in the Vedanta philosophy and is commonly called Advaita Non dualism insists as we have seen on the unity of all being But it has also other characteristics It may be described as in one sense the most self annihilating system in the world for it asserts that there can be no real self atman existing separately from the one self existent Supreme Self sometimes called Paramatman sometimes Brahman and that when by the act of that Self the individuated spirits of men are allowed for a time an apparent separate existence the aim of such spirits should be to be blended once more with the one Eternal Self in entire self annihilation A Brahman who holds this doctrine thinks the religion of the Christian who is conscious of severance from God and yearns for reunion with Him and yet does not wish his own self consciousness to be merged in God a very selfish kind of creed compared with his own. It is evident however that there may be more real selfishness in the self annihilating creed (self annihilating?? There is no annihilation as it is understood about matter or anything in creation! It is dissolution of ego and really there is no way around it ... on the journey to the spiritual realm). Read more

Bollywood's fitness ways

Last updated on: June 17, 2008 at 7:52 am By Desh Kapoor

How times have changed in Bollywood! Do you remember our heroes a few decades back? Sanjeev Kumar? Vinod Mehra? aging Rajesh Khanna? Remember how actresses were conscious of doing anything inappropriate? Remember Asha Parekh? Now, the new crop is totally into fitness and they can give the best a run for the money. I know that Akshay Kumar is a toughie anyways.. but couldn't have imagined him and Neha Dhupia - the film actress for Singh is Kinng would climb 60 storeys of a hotel in Australia as part of their exercise! Read more

Peace loving and violence: a dialogue of Kashmiris

Last updated on: June 17, 2008 at 6:41 am By Desh Kapoor

"Stop talking of Kashmir, if you do not know what happens there!" burst out Khurshid. He had been listening to the self gloating talk of four guys who had been praising how the Indian Government was handling the situation. He had seen how his younger brother's bullet ridden body had one day been brought home. He was just 4. The stony eyes on a still glowing face with bullet ridden stomach was hard to digest. Khurshid was angry. But he had never wanted to be another killer. His family had seen a lot. His Uncle would often be away from home, some said he was in Pakistan. He would often come and bring some friends they had never known. Surely not Kashmiris, but who were very disciplined in the daily prayers and strict on religious practice. Then one day his Uncle never returned. His Aunt never recovered from that setback. Ever since, she was with their family bed ridden. His father had brought his cousin and his own kids up. Ajay was the angry one. "Oye.. are you a Jehadi?" No. DO I have to be? I am one of those who left the valley because I could not take the violence and did not want to be violent. There was little choice. "But its you guys who do the violence anyways!" Neeraj said bluntly. Who is this "you" here? A car in your colony ran over a kid last evening... you heard about that didn't you? Can I say that "you guys" run over kids? Why do I have to take the curse of masses? The four were stunned! His argument was strong and to the point. Pankaj then requested "Then why does violence happen in Kashmir. Since you suggest that we do not know, you ought to explain to us why you think it happens?" Isnt it obvious? Over the years, the Government of India, has been putting up puppet rulers who have never looked at the good of the people. When the people asked for their rights we got violent Army and then came the reaction and violence escalated. We are asking for rights... of basic human beings. That we need to be ruled by ourselves and live with our consent. Youth with no future can take a violent direction. And that is what has happened in our land of peace! I am angry, but do not desire violence. Bahut takat chahiye yeh sab bardasht karne ke liye! Rajiv was smoking. It was an interesting conversation. He looked back. "Bardasht is a very interesting word. Can you use that with an angry mind?" "What do you mean? When pain occurs, the mind will react. To not take a wrong action despite provocation is Bardasht!" Read more